Riyadh: The Saudi IPO of the Middle East Domino’s Pizza franchise has received orders for all shares on offer within hours of opening its books. Alamar Foods’ order book is fully covered, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. Private equity firm Carlyle Group is seeking to raise as much as $325 million from the listing of the fast-food company on the Saudi stock exchange.
Investor appetite for local listings remains strong, though a rally in Middle Eastern equities has faded over the past month as fears of recessions gripped global markets. Saudi Arabian stocks briefly erased this year’s gains on Monday, trading about 18 per cent below a high in May, before rebounding as bargain hunters stepped in.
Alamar Foods set the price range for its IPO at 103 riyals to 115 riyals per share, implying a market value of as much as 2.9 billion riyals ($773 million.) IPO books opened on Monday for institutional investors.
Saudi Arabia’s stock market is one of the most active in the Middle East and since allowing foreigners to directly buy stocks in 2015 has attracted some of the biggest global investors. The Saudi exchange has been working for several years to attract listings from companies in the region as it tries to position itself as the main venue for stock trading in Middle East.
Carlyle is selling a 41.7 per cent stake in Alamar, or 10.6 million shares, to institutional and retail investors. The US buyout firm acquired its stake from Saudi-based firm AlJammaz Group in 2011 for an undisclosed amount.
